DAN W. REICHER; Candidates for Obama's Inner Circle

By MATTHEW L. WALD

Published: November 15, 2008

BEING CONSIDERED FOR Energy secretary

WOULD BRING TO THE JOB Strong environmental credentials and extensive experience in four crucial areas: nuclear power, nuclear weapons cleanup, renewable energy and energy efficiency. After years of work as an environmental advocate and for the Clinton administration, Mr. Reicher is director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google.

IS LINKED TO MR. OBAMA BY His work on the steering committee Clean Tech for Obama, which raised about $2 million for the campaign. Mr. Reicher also advised the campaign on energy and appeared as a surrogate in debates on energy.

IN HIS OWN WORDS''Gee, that was easy.'' (Describing a lesson he learned at 7 years old, when he persuaded a company to discontinue production of a parka with a hood lined with the fur of a wolverine that was endangered.)

USED TO WORK AS Co-founder of the New Energy Capital Corporation, a private equity fund specializing in clean energy. Was assistant attorney general for environmental protection in Massachusetts. From 1985 to 1992, he was a senior lawyer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group. After that, he served as assistant secretary of energy for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

CARRIES AS BAGGAGE As a committed environmentalist first, he would have a different outlook than his predecessors in the Energy Department, which has always focused on the manufacture of nuclear weapons and on compromise with corporations in the energy business.

BIOGRAPHY Born June 30, 1956, in Syracuse ... holds a B.A. in biology from Dartmouth and a J.D. from Stanford Law School ... part of the first expedition to kayak the entire 1,888 miles of the Rio Grande ... part of the first group on record to kayak the Yangtze River in China ... married to Carole Parker, an environmental consultant ... they have three children. MATTHEW L. WALD